Olympus restyles Stylus-7010 compact ultrazoom

Olympus announced its first wave of compact ultrazooms, including the 10x zoom Stylus-9000 and 7x zoom Stylus-7000, back in January. This morning, the manufacturer is updating the 7x model in this set with the launch of the new Olympus Stylus-7010.

Using a 12 megapixel sensor and a 2.7 inch HyperCrystal II LCD, the Stylus-7010 features a specs sheet that closely resembles that of the previous model, but adds a new wide-angle lens as well as Olympus's Magic Filters technology to the mix as well.

Unlike the Stylus-7000, which featured a normal-to-telephoto 7x zoom, the pocket-size Stylus-7010 packs a much wider 28-196mm lens that trades telephoto coverage for the ability to reel in a broad field of view.

Image stabilization is provided courtesy of Olympus Dual Image Stabilization technology, which combines sensor-shifting mechanical stabilization with ISO-boosting digital stabilization. Olympus's current TruePic III image processor promises speedy performance and a host of other processor-side options, including face detection, Shadow Adjustment Technology, an AF Tracking system that can lock on to and follow moving subjects, and Olympus's Intelligent Auto automatic scene recognition mode.

In another derivation from the manufacturer's DSLR line, the Stylus-7010 features a set of Magic Filters, which provide time-of-capturing processing effects - a nearly identical system to the Art Filters shooting mode found on Olympus's E-series DSLRs. Magic Filters options for the Stylus-7010 include a colorful and vibrant Pop Art setting, a Pin Hole camera emulator, and a Fisheye mode that mimics the curving lines of captures shot through a fisheye lens.

Interface-side options include Olympus's "Olympus Recommended" button, which provides a list of scene-specific settings recommendations, a Beauty Mode for smoothing skin tones in portraits, and Olympus's standard Perfect Shot Preview technology that shows the impact of settings choices on-screen before a shot is captured.

The visually restyled Stylus-7010 utilizes a proprietary lithium-ion battery for power, and saves images to either an xD-Picture Card or a microSD card (via a supplied adapter).

Pricing and availability
The Olympus Stylus-7010 should start showing up on store shelves before the end of next month. Suggested pricing is an attractive $199.99.